Confusion

[josh <josh@thefamousjoneses.com>]

Hi,

When one has a problem with any GNU/Linux distribution and goes to the
Internet for help, one is always a. assured that there is loads of help
available and b. directed to a maze of mailing lists where any search
immediately returns at least a million hits. This is certainly the case
with Debian.

Worse, almost every entry in those lists refers to attempting to perform
some complex technical activity, usually with a root terminal, and is
studded with abstruse technical terms. Trying to read through even a
subset of those entries, obtained by severely narrowing the search
terms, takes hours. And narrowing the terms may just have excluded the
only relevant entry.

Look at my latest frustration:

I have downloaded 'wheezy' and created a CD from the Iso image. When I
attempt to boot from the CD the screen image comes up, I respond to a
few options, then the system reports unable to read from the CD - which
it has, of course, been doing. 

I have created a second CD - same problem. Downloaded the file again and
used that to create a third CD - same problem. I have tried these CD's
on two different machines, one of which faultlessly runs the current
version of gnewsense and the other puppy linux. Same result.

This is such an elementary failure that it must be happening to lots of
people. The CDs are all OK - I can open them, see their contents, unzip
packages, read any readable files. My CD readers are obviously working
just fine.

I have so far spent two days trying to find some reference to this
problem in your lists.

Thank you for patiently reading this. My point is that I have a very
basic problem that must be happening to dozens of other people, yet I am
finding it impossible to discover the answer. And so must they be.

Is there any way to find the answers to simple, basic problems without
becoming immersed in millions of abstruse technical queries by people
who are doing something other than following the very basic installation
installation steps given on your own website?

Am I missing something obvious here?

Regards,

Josh.